The cannabis producer Tilray is rallying, up as much as 17% early Tuesday, announcing it has signed a global partnership with Sandoz AG, a division of Swiss drug giant Novartis AG, to increase the availability of its medical cannabis products around the world. Shares were up 8.82% at $US71.70 apiece ahead of Tuesday’s opening bell.

In a global-framework agreement, the two companies agreed to support each other in commercialising Tilray’s non-smokable medical cannabis products, co-branding certain products, developing new products, and educating pharmacists and physicians about cannabis, Tilray announced in a press release.

“This agreement represents a major milestone in the movement to provide access to safe, GMP-certified medical cannabis to patients in need across the world,” Brendan Kennedy, CEO of Tilray said in the release.

“Tilray is a global company and we’re thrilled to build upon the success and momentum from our existing agreement with Sandoz Canada by taking our partnership global. Sandoz AG will be a valuable partner as we work together to improve access to the highest quality medical cannabis products in countries all over the world.”

Tilray began trading on the Nasdaq in July, becoming the first cannabis company to have an initial public offering in the US. Shares were priced at $US17 apiece, and rallied as much as 1,665% over the next two months, topping out in September after CEO Brendan Kennedy appeared on CNBC and laid out the growth prospects for his company.

Last month, the Cannabis producer posted its first earnings report since going public in the US, missing on both the top and bottom lines.